Method and products to fight fires

ABSTRACT

An original method and products are described for fire quenching in all substrata such as forests, cultivated areas, city areas, industrial units, transport vehicles, etc. Aqueous suspensions of fire quenching special products contain endomolecularly water up to 300 g water/g of polymeric product, and the water is kept very strongly so that pressure is needed to take the water out. These products are used in quantities of 1-3%, and to the quenching water are added complimentary other products such as detergents, emulsifiers, adhesion promoters, and inorganic products such as carbonates, sulfates silicones etc. Quenching fires utilizes the solution containing these or a selection of these products, and the solution is thrown in the fire edges to rapidly extinguish the fires, because the water contained in the special organic products is liberated in the fire edges, where quenching immediately occurs. As a result, excess quenching water enters the area, thereby creating non-flammable conditions in the whole area.

This application is the national phase under 35 U.S.C. §371 of prior PCTInternational Application No. PCT/GR97/00028 which has an Internationalfiling date of Jul. 15, 1997 which designated the Unites States ofAmerica.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The most extensive disasters nowadays which damage our globalenvironment and threaten life are forest fires occurring every summer,(every year), by which more and more greenery is destroyed and life isendangered. The destruction of forests and elements of life by firesleads to ecological damage.

Extensive fires also result in abandonment mountainous areas bypopulations moving to plains and large cities which is connected withincreases in water consumption, resulting to biological damage and towater balance alterations which may result to changes in face of thePlanet. These changes of habitat has resulted to in the abandonment ofthe vast mountainous areas which largely control the water balance andthe biological action on Earth.

There is need to improve fire fighting for survival. Man is rather weakin this area despite all transport means available for quenching water:aeroplanes, helicopters, ships, truck-tankers. The materials in use forfire fighting are water and carbon dioxide applied by all transport anddelivery means mentioned, which are continuously improved but are notthat successful to face the increase in fire damage. Additionally it hasbeen scientifically proven that by bringing small quantities of water onthe fire edges could be a successful fire fighting approach.

We have extensively studied the problem of fire fighting and have workedto advance products and techniques which lead to successful firefighting. This original, highly profitable approach has been derivedfrom our conviction that solutions providing for adding products to fireedges products that can release much water, by which the fire is veryeffective faced. In case where these products are organic and destroyedby burning their remains could secure non-inflamability in the areainvolved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

We have worked extensively to fulfil the above, and by R & D work wehave developed original and most profitable products for that purpose.We have also advanced proper techniques leading to successful firefighting. The products we have developed are derived from marketpolymers or from recycled polymers, which by successive processingbecome stable macroplegmatic and polar groups at high density areintroduced with which the polymers acquire the capacity to absorb waterup to 300 times there weight in which water is kept endomolecularly andthe water is held thus very strongly. Great strength is needed to beapplied to remove the water.

These products are easily suspended in water in pure form or withselective additives according to needs. The products which can be addedas improvements are: detergents, emulsifiers, adhesives, products whichdo not burn such as carbonates, sulphates, silicates etc., so that thecoverage of use can be highly expanded.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The polymeric products that endomolecularly absorb water up to 300 timesare directed to the fire edges where they are burned, thereby releasingmuch water to fight the fire immediately and on a wide front. Thatresult has been proven in wide practice with very successful results inspeed of action, in difficult fire control and in wide coverage. Thefollowing describes some results of these applications.

a. Water to fight fire contains 2% polymeric material, 1% pulverizedcalcium carbonate and 0.5% detergent. This was used to fight a woodfire. A very rapid cessation of fire was observed and no fire coulddevelop for 120 minutes.

b. Water to fight fire containing 1% polymeric material 1% pulverizedcalcium carbonate was used to fight fires developed in a forest. Thefire ceased in a very short time and the area where the water solutionwas thrown did not retain firing ability.

c. Water was prepared containing in emulsion 2% polymeric material, 0.1%detergent and 1% starch to ensure emulsion stability. This was used tofight fires developed in car tires. The cessation of fire was rapid andthere was no new fire could be developed in those tires.

d. After these successful trials, fire fighting from an airplane wasdemonstrated. The water containing 1% polymeric material by weight wasthrown on the fire, followed by the very impressive result that the fireceased quickly in a wide are, and the forest treated with the thrownsolution did not show efficiency to develop a new fire.

The originality and the importance of our invention, dealing with aproblem of survival in our planet, is evident. It shows high potentialin dealing with fires. It makes a first such possibility to faceefficiently the fires in city life, out of cities, in forests, incultivated areas and everywhere in everyday life.

EXAMPLE 1

100 kg of recycled polystyrene is diluted in 300 liters of1,2-dichloroethylene solvent and in that solution is added 1 kg ofdibenzyl-X-dichloro-dibenzyl chloride as a crosslinking agent.

The resulting solution is heated to 40° C. and then 40 ml ofconcentrated sulphuric acid is added. After 5 minutes of agitationcrosslinking had occurred,, and when the mixture cannot be furtheragitated the product is taken out, is minced in a machine and then issuspended into 300 liters of solvent. In the resulting suspension at 68°C. is added chlorosulfonic acid 2.2 M/M of benzene rings and beginssulphonation. The sulphonation reaction is followed with hydrogenchloride liberation. Then are gradually formed two layers, that ofpolymeric insoluble mass and that of solvents and those layers areseparated by centrifuging in a decanter. The polymeric mass isneutralised with concentrated sodium hydroxide solution and then isdirected in 20% sodium chloride solution where most of the water isexpelled from the polymeric mass and the remaining water is taken out bytaking the mass under electric voltage of 20 v, from which the polymericmass is rendered practically free of water. The polymeric mass isfinally taken into a reactor it is heated under vacuum up to 160° C.where the mass becomes soft and homogenic. Finally, it is taken intodesalinated water and after 6 hrs. in it, the polymeric mass had waterabsorption capacity of 225 and an ionexchange strength of 4.94.

EXAMPLE 2

100 Kg polystyrene is dissolved in 300 liters of solvent where us addedacetic acid (to resist sulfone group formation) in quantity of 15% tothe solvent volume. It is subjected to sulphonation by addingchlorosulphonic acid 2.2 M/M of benzene rings as a 20% solution in thesolvent at 68° C. where two layers are formed. These layers areseparated by decanting and the polymeric product is further treated likeexample 1. Finally a product is obtained having water absorptioncapacity 350 and ionic exchange strength of 4.96.

EXAMPLE 3

10 kg of a 40:60 copolymer of acrylonitrile and styrene, is diluted into30 liters of solvent containing 18% acetic acid and in that is addedchlorosulphonic acid 2.2 M/M of benzene rings. After the sulphonationtreatment a glassy product, insoluble is then separated by decanting. Itis treated like in example 1 and finally a product is produced with twoionic groupings, one acetic and one sulphonic. The product finally had awater absorption capacity of 270.

EXAMPLE 4

Fully hydrogenated SBR in quantity of 10 kgs is diluted into 30 litersof solvent and crosslinked with agentdimbenzyl-X-dimethylobenzyl-chloride using sulphuric acid as catalystaccording to the example 1. The thick mass resulted after 20 minutesagitation it was minced and subjected into 30 liters of solvent. Then itwas sulphonated with oleum (60% SO₃) in quantity 3 M/M benzene rings at10° with cooling. The final product after purification according to theabove had a water absorption capacity of 103 and an ionexchange strength4.1.

EXAMPLE 5 Preparation of Fire Fighting Products

Product A

To be used with water quenching in expanded areas.

The product of Examples 1 to 4 was used in pure form with water forequilibration.

The product of the resulting quality is thrown into quenching water inquantity 1-3% and is used to control fires by directing those productsinto the fire edges.

Product B

Product to be used for personal utilization to fight small fireaccidents.

It is suggested to use the products in emulsions rather like in thefollowing formulation:

Polymeric product 2-3% Detergent 0.1% Starch or petroleum 0.5%

For better pumping because of higher viscosity inorganic pulverisedproducts are added such as chalk, sulphates, sand, silicates.

Product C

To fight fires developed inorganic volatile solvents that burn easily,the action should be concentrated and rapid.

The polymeric products of 1-4 examples are utilized in higherconcentrations up to 10% if that is possible, and are pumped at suchfacilities.

Remark. The polymeric products contain much water thus their pumpingshould not involve pressure. Application is by running water by applyingwater pressure or vacuum.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of quenching fires which comprises:adding to a fire edge a product which comprises a multiprocessedmacroplegmatic polymer having high density polar groups, wherein thepolar groups have allowed the polymer to absorb endomolecularly up to300 times the polymer weight of water, whereby the polymer decomposes toliberate the water to quench the fire at the fire edge so that an areaabout the fire edge becomes non-flammable.
 2. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the fire occurs in a forest, a cultivated area, a city,car tires, an industrial unit or a transport vehicle.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein 1-3 wt. % of the product is mixed withwater.
 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the product mixedwith water is added to the fire using an airplane, a helicopter or atanker which pumps water.
 5. The method according to claim 3, wherein anexcess of product is added to the fire edge, so that the area about thefire edge becomes non-flammable.
 6. The method according to claim 3wherein the water further contains a detergent, an emulsifier, anadhesive, pulverized calcium carbonate, pulverized calcium sulfate orpulverized silicate.
 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein thewater contains 2% of the polymer, 1% calcium carbonate and 0.5%detergent.
 8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the water is anemulsion comprising 2% of the polymeric material, 0.1% of the detergentand 1% starch.
 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the polymeris polystyrene.
 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein thepolystyrene is crosslinked and sulfonated.
 11. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the polymer is SBR.
 12. The method according to claim11, wherein the SBR is crosslinked and sulfonated.
 13. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the polymer is a copolymer ofacrylonitrile and styrene.
 14. The method according to claim 13, whereinthe copolymer is crosslinked and sulfonated.
 15. The method according toclaim 13, wherein the copolymer is 40:60 copolymer of acrylonitrile andstyrene.